MRI is often performed on patients suffering from back pain. These scans usually reveal the presence of intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. Yet the link between degeneration and pain does not always exist and is poorly understood. Often MRI can detect signs of degeneration and changes of the disc structure without the presence of low back pain. In addition, in some cases pain exists, but does not originate from degenerated IVDs seen in MRI. Current standard procedure includes the use of provocative discography. In this painful procedure, a small amount of contrast agent is injected to several spinal discs in order to detect the disc from which the pain originates. Based on this test, a decision is made about which disc will be subjected to surgery. Until now, a reliable noninvasive method to detect painful discs has not been available. Therefore, there is a clear need to identify specific MRI-detectable parameters that can be indicative of pain derived from degenerated IVDs. Moreover there is a need for imaging methods that would also predict the prognosis of degenerate discs and whether they would become painful in the future. There is also a need to establish methods for the diagnosis and prognosis of related conditions affecting similar tissues